


Dancing Flames

by servant_of_light



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts) Appreciation, M/M, Minor Demyx/Zexion (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 03:27:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17717159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/servant_of_light/pseuds/servant_of_light
Summary: Roxas was the newest student and Oblivion High. He had no idea what to expect.





	1. Day 1

A boy with spiked blonde hair hesitantly made his way to the front doors of his new school. His bright blue eyes scanned his surroundings, mentally making notes of who to avoid. At least for now. He took a deep breath and pushed the door opened in front of him. The door lead into a massive lobby-like area. Well lit with a giant stained glass window on the ceiling. 

He looked at his hand as various colors danced across it as he walked under the stained glass. It was pretty, he thought. He turned his gaze back to the hallway in front of him. He needed to find the office to pick up his class schedule and whatever else he may need. Oh, his locker number, he would need that too. 

He took a deep breath and let it out as he walked forward, trying to ignore some of the gazes from the other students around him. He was new, and everyone knew it. He felt helpless and lost, like a harmless kitten surrounded by lions. He swallowed hard as he felt a lump quickly forming in his throat. 

There was noise all around him. Students talking, lockers slamming shut, announcements over the intercom, but...All the boy could hear was the sounds of his own heartbeat, footsteps, and breathing. He glanced up at the signs that hung above the doors. Black signs etched in silver lettering. 

He read class numbers, staff rooms like the teachers lounge, directions to the cafeteria, and, the room he was looking for, the office. He walked up to the door and lifted his slightly shaky hand and took a hold of the handle on the door. He slowly pulled the door open, causing it to creek slightly. 

The squeak of the door caught the attention of the only two people currently in the room, the headmaster of the school, and another student. The headmaster lifted his head, his orange eyes catching the gaze of the new student. 

"Oh hello. You must be my new student." His deep, almost terrifying voice spoke to adress the boy. 

"Take a seat over there, I will be with you in a moment." He gestured to some chairs lined up against the opposite wall, his silvery white hair moving with his shoulder. The blonde boy quickly nodded. "Yes sir..." He nearly whispered, walking past the other student in the room. She was a smaller girl. Her deep black hair fell around her face, framing it perfectly. 

He caught one last glance of her as he sat down in his chair of choice. Who was that girl? Was she new, just like him? Or was she in trouble? He let out a deep sigh. He was then pulled from his thoughts by the office door opening and closing. The girl was gone...

The headmaster had turned to him. "Alright, you're next, Roxas." He called to the blonde boy and he stood up. Roxas walked back over to the desk. "I-I just needed my class schedule...and locker number..." He mumbled, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. 

The headmaster simply nodded and turned to a filing cabinet behind him. Roxas glanced around and noticed the nameplate on the desk in front of him. Xemnas. That was the name of the headmaster of Oblivion Highschool. 

Roxas looked up from the nameplate as he noticed Xemnas turn back around, holding a piece of paper in his hands. "Alright. Here is you class schedule. Your locker number is written on the bottom left corner. Your first day should be easy, you only have two out of eight periods with classes. The rest can be used to get used to how things are here." Xemnas explained. Roxas felt like his voice would make the whole room rumble with how deep it was.

"If you have any questions, come ask me. If I am not currently available, the principal, Lexaeus, is your second best option." 

Roxas listened carefully, nodding to let Xemnas know he understood. "Thank you, sir..." He looked down at his paper and turned to leave. Xemnas sent him off with one final sentence. "Welcome to Oblivion High, Roxas."

The blonde nearly felt his heart leap in his chest. He was here. His first year of high school begins today. Roxas let out a sigh as he stepped out of the office and let the door swing closed behind him. "There's no turning back now..." He whispered to himself. He looked down at his schedule. First off was home room. 

"Room....thirteen?" Roxas murmured, hoping he remembered his roman numerals well enough. He had seen that number on his way to the office. "Guess I'll just retrace my steps then." As Roxas began to walk, he noticed more students had shown up to start the day. Roxas had arrived before the school day even began to pick up everything he would need. 

He looked at his watch. Five minutes before home room began. Roxas had no need to rush. He took his time as he walked, taking in the sights around him. The tile floors were marbled granite tile, perfectly cleaned to a spotless shine. The walls were white, the black metal lockers that lined them clearly stood out. 

'This place is massive...' Roxas thought to himself. He was sure he was bound to get lost. So many hallways, so many rooms...Do any of the students learn their way around before they graduate?!

Roxas stopped and looked up at the signs above the doors yet again. Directly in front of him was his destination, Room XIII. He took a breath and walked inside. He felt his stomach drop as dozens of eyes were suddenly on him upon entering the room. 

The teacher's eyes seemed the most burning out of all of them. He was a taller man with pale blonde hair and a goatee. "Hm. You must be our new student." He muttered in a low tone. "Take a seat at your desk. It's marked by a number and your name." 

Roxas listened to his instructions and searched each empty desk. He quickly found his. 

XIII Roxas 

That's what it read. Roxas let out an almost relieved sigh as he sat his bag down and took his seat. He glanced around to see the students around him. First was another girl. Her hair was blonde with two small strands curving upwards like crescents. She had a blank, somewhat intimidating expression on her face. 

To his left, sat a tall boy who seemed to be about the same age as Roxas. His dusty gray-blue hair covered half of his face. His focus was currently on the book in his hands. He seemed...Distant. Not too terribly friendly either. 

The last boy Roxas noticed was sitting directly in front of him. There wasn't much that he could make out other then the black leather jacket he wore, and his bright red spiked hair. He seemed...Okay? Somewhat intimidating, but to be fair, a puppy would seem intimidating to Roxas at this current point in time. 

Home room passed by normally. Roxas has three free periods after that, so he began to wander around the school. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around every single hallway and room. This was going to take quite a while to get used to...

*****

Once Roxas attended his last class of the day, headmaster Xemnas told him he was welcome to head home. He left the school with no argument. It was such a massive place...yet he felt claustrophobic. He felt enclosed and alone among so many new people and places. Seperating from his younger brother was going to be much harder then he originally had thought. 

He was the middle child out of a group of three. His oldest brother was attending college out of state, so Roxas and his younger brother lived with some close family friends of theirs. They were almost like siblings to Roxas as well. However...He couldn't help but see one of them as a mother figure. Aqua was her name. Everything about her made Roxas feel loved, and safe. 

She always made sure he had a snack when he got home from school, helped with his homework and she always cooked dinner for everybody. Aqua and their third friend, Terra, ran a martial arts school together. Terra made a point of teaching Roxas and his little brother, Sora, how to defend themselves. 

Roxas made his way home and walked up the stairs to the front door. He opened it and walked inside. "I'm home." He called in a somewhat tired voice. Aqua peeked out of the kitchen. "Hi Roxas." She smiled warmly and walked back into the kitchen with the younger boy trailing behind her. "Are you hungry? I can make you a snack." 

That sounded good to him. "Yes please." He replied and took a seat at the dining room table with his backpack. 

Aqua started to make Roxas his favorite strawberry smoothie. "How was your first day?" She asked, keeping her attention on the blender. 

"It wasn't...bad I guess. Just overwhelming. That place is so huge you wind up walking in circles before you even know it! So many of the other students looked at me like I was insane when I would leave where they were, and wind up back in that exact same spot not even a minute later....Ugh..." Roxas let out a groan as he rubbed his temples. His head hurt. 

Aqua let out a soft giggle. "Sounds like you had an interesting first day. Other than the confusing layout, what do you think of the school?" She asked, glancing over her should for a moment to meet his gaze. Roxas fell silent for a moment to really think about it. "I mean...It's not a bad place...Kinda...Exciting actually." Roxas half smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Just you wait. It won't take you too long to get used to the place. Who knows, you may even make some new friends." Roxas didn't have to see her face to know she was giving him a motherly smile. He wasn't sure how to respond, so instead he changed the subject. 

"Did we get any mail today?" He asked, resting his elbows on the table. " I haven't gotten the chance to look today. Go ahead and check, I'll have your snack ready once you get back inside." 

Roxas hopped up from the table with a grin. "Be right back!" He walked out of the kitchen and then the front door. He made his way down the driveway to where their mailbox was. He opened it and saw a fairly thick stack of envelopes and a small package. "Looks like whatever Sora bought got here." Roxas murmured as he pulled all of the mail out and closed the mailbox again. 

He walked back inside. He waited until he was inside to start sorting through the mail, for fear that he would drop it. He walked back into the kitchen and started putting the mail in seperate piles on the table. One for Terra, then Aqua, and Sora. He got about half way through the mail before he spotted the name had been looking for. 

He gasped. "A letter from Ven! Yes!!" Roxas exclaimed with joy. Roxas and Sora's older brother, Ventus, wrote letters to his brothers to keep in touch with them while he was in college. Aqua turned and walked over to Roxas, smiling. 

"So are you going to read it now?" 

"No, I'm gonna wait until Sora gets home." He replied, taking the snack that Aqua handed to him. "That's sweet of you. Eat up then. It may be a little while before he gets home. He has that club after school, remember?" 

 

"Oh, right, I forgot." Roxas said with a slight pout. He sat back down at the table and started to eat, watching Aqua as she worked in the kitchen. He had noticed Terra wasn't in the living room, or in the kitchen. He wondered if he was out in the back yard. He finished taking a sip of his smoothie and looked at Aqua. 

"Is Terra out back?" He asked. 

"I think so. Probably training." She smiled.

Roxas simply nodded and continued eating. Once he finished, he thanked Aqua and went to the living room to wait for Sora to get home. He sat the letter from Ventus on the coffee table and grabbed the remote. About ten minutes into an episode of his favorite show, he heard the door open. 

Sora strode through the door with a grin. "I'm home!" 

 

Roxas wasted no time in getting his attention. "Sora! We got a letter from Ven!" 

Sora turned to his older brother and instantly dropped his bag. "What? We did? Where? When?! Can we read it now?!" He rambled, his bright blue eyes lighting up with joy as he scrambled over to the couch. 

" I was waiting for you to get home!" Roxas replied as he started to open the letter. Sora flopped on the couch and nearly climbed over Roxas to see the letter. Roxas pulled the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it. He started to read. 

" Dear Sora and Roxas...How is school going? I hope you aren't overwhelmed by your new school, Roxas." The blonde let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "A little too late for that. That place is massive." 

Sora frowned a bit and rubbed his older brother's shoulder encouragingly. "Yeah, true..." 

"I've met at least three people today who would rather kill me then so much as look at me." Roxas groaned and let his head fall back on the couch. Sora frowned. "Roxas, you should stick with me! We'll buddy up, I'll help you." 

Roxas looked at his little brother. "Sora you aren't going to be at Oblivion High for at least another year. Until then...I'm on my own. " Roxas was admittedly jealous that his brothers both seemed better at making and keeping friends then he ever did. He felt...Alone. 

Sora pouted. "But Roxas...!" 

"I'll be okay, Sora." Roxas gave Sora a small, unsure smile. He didn't want to be a bother to anybody, even his own family. Sora shook his head and patted Roxas on the head with a kind smile. "You'll find friends. Just watch. Bet you they'll be falling at your feet." 

"Pfft...I doubt that, but, thanks for the encouragement bro." Roxas giggled softly and held the letter up to Sora. "You wanna read the rest?" 

Sora shook his head. "I like when you do it...It sounds like Ven's here..." 

Roxas felt a prick at his heart at his brother's words. "Gosh..." He mumbled as he tried to compose himself again. "Okay, I'll read it then." Both of the boys missed Ventus like crazy. "Sora, try not to make too much trouble for Terra and Aqua, okay?" Roxas couldn't help but snicker as he read. "Both of you make sure you focus on school, and most importantly, be there for eachother..." 

Roxas could almost hear his brother's voice in his head as he continued...

 

"I know things are going to be crazy hard for each of you. I know they always have,  
even if you never told anybody. And grown-ups seem scary,but Peter Pan always told me  
it's your friends that matter. You two, lean on eachother, okay? For me? I promise not to  
be gone too long. I'll be back for Christmas. Always have eachother's back, no matter what  
the problem is. As long as you remember you are not alone...You'll be able to stay strong.

I love you both. I hope this makes you smile. Would love to hear from each of you. Maybe

we can keep this going.

Remember you always have a reason to live...  
~Ven"

Roxas wiped away a stray tear that escaped his eye as he finished reading the letter. He looked at Sora and smiled softly. Sora looked like he was going to burst into tears. "I...I miss him...I..."

"I-I know...I do too..." Roxas' voice shook as he pulled his younger brother into a tight hug. He sniffled as tears escaped his eyes. "We can't give up...No matter what..." Sora cried and buried his face in Roxas' shoulder. "Y-Yeah!" 

Roxas held Sora close as he tried his best not to cry. It was hard for them to be in seperate schools now. Roxas had a group of friends when he was in middle school, but they all moved on and seemed to have forgotten him completely. It broke his heart. Hayner, Pence and Olette were the only ones he had ever genuinely called his friends.

Sora clung to his big brother. He wished things could go back to the way they had been. Roxas bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly. The only people who knew how he was were his family. To everybody else, he seemed almost like a zombie. 

Sora hugged him tighter and rubbed his arm. "It'll be okay. Ven will be back before we know it! Right?" 

"R-Right." He nodded with a shaky voice as he wiped his tears away. Sora gripped him even tighter. "Sora..." Roxas murmured. "Don't worry about me too much, okay?"

"Shhh..." Sora lifted his head. "Ven's not here, so of course I'm going to worry about you." He smiled at his brother. Roxas weakly returned the smile.

"Thanks, Sora..."


	2. Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning this chapter will be very long! Taking this straight from my wattpad account and day 2 was posted in three separate chapters! This will be his full day at school, the next chapter will be once Roxas gets home!

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Sharp, sudden noises of a nearby alarm clock roused a messy-haired blonde from his deep sleep. Roxas awoke with a groan and pulled his blanket from his head. It was time to prepare for his second day of highschool. The boy swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up straight. He rubbed one of his bright blue eyes as he reached for the button that shut off that dreadful alarm clock. 

At last, silence was found. Roxas felt a pleased yet still half asleep smile work its way onto his face. The only thing he wanted to do in that moment was flop back down in his bed and fall right back asleep. Though, a nagging thought in the back of his head told him that Aqua would be his next "alarm" if he did so. 

Roxas' limbs felt like bags of wet cement as he attempted to lift himself from his bed. He wobbled and stumbled ever so slightly on his feet, his knees threatening to buckle beneath him. He would rather not come face to face with the polished hardwood floor beneath him. He groaned and pulled himself into the bathroom connected to his bedroom. 

Once inside he turned and was met with his own exhausted face in the mirror. You could have sworn this boy hasn't slept in at least a week. As a yawn erupted from the teens chest, he reached a hand up to lazily comb his mane of hair with his fingers. His hair never knotted much, so he never bothered with an actual hairbrush. 

Roxas stumbled out of his bathroom and made his way to his closet. Thankfully, Oblivion didn't have a uniform code, so he could wear his typical casual wear to school and be just fine. He grabbed a black t-shirt, jeans, and his favorite hoodie. He bit his lip in an attempt to suppress another yawn, which ultimately failed. 

Once Roxas was somewhat satisfied with his appearance, he got dressed and left his room. A tired sigh slipped past his lips as his stiff heavy legs thumped down the polished wooden staircase. He wasn't ready for another day of school, the first one alone was torture enough. There were so many students there that cluttered it's pristine and winding hallways. Just thinking about it sent the blonde's head reeling. 

He rubbed his tired eyes as he turned and made his way into the kitchen, where Terra already was. He leaned against a counter and took a sip of the cup of coffee in his hand. "Oh hey, Roxas. You're awake." Terra spoke in a warm and slightly raspy tone. He himself had clearly just woken up as well. 

"Does it really count if I'm walkin' around with my eyes closed?" Roxas grumbled, but he was only trying to joke. Terra let out a soft chuckle in response. 

"I'm honestly not sure if it does or not. I suppose I'm not really awake either." Terra let out another sigh and brought his mug of black liquid to his lips. Roxas let out a loud yawn as he trudged over to the fridge to grab something to eat. "Sora and Aqua already gone...?" He murmured, glancing over at his caretaker. 

Terra nodded. "They were both up bright and early as usual to get Sora to school. I honestly have no idea how the two of them are able to run from sun up to sun down and still seem to have so much energy the next day to get up and do it all over again." 

"I swear the sugar in the blood skipped a sibling apparently..." Roxas murmured. His two brothers always seemed to have so much more energy then he ever did. Roxas grabbed an apple from the fridge and took a sizable bite as the door clicked shut. "Guess I need to get going for school soon too...I don't want to be late on my second day." He spoke dryly. 

"Yeah...Lemme know when you're ready to get going." Terra remarked, walking past Roxas and ruffling his hair with a lazy hand. Roxas couldn't help but letting a small smile work it's way onto his face."Kay...Be ready in a minute." He called after the taller man as he took another bite of his apple. 

Soon it was off to confront the maze once more. 

***********

Roxas waved goodbye to Terra as his caretaker dropped him off at school. Once the car was out of sight, the boy turned on his heel to face the looming building before him. He wasn't ready for this...Not at all. His head already felt like it would spin off of his shoulders as he thought about the long hallways and countless rooms. 

Roxas mustered his courage and pressed forward, stepping through the front doors of the academy once more. Once inside, he was again greeted by the calming sight of colors dancing across his skin. So far, this large stained glass window was the only thing he considered familiar. He had about twenty-five minutes before his first period class, so he decided to use that time to find the locker he had been assigned. 

He strode down the halls at an unintentional brisk pace, avoiding the gazes of those who noticed him. He was new, and was more than certain that the others could tell. His anxious body language spoke outrageous volumes. Roxas looked up and began to scan the lockers in front of him, soon finding the one that matched the number he had written in his phone. 

The sleek black metal was polished to perfection, not a dent nor a scratch could be seen on the surface. 

"wow..." Roxas whispered as his fingers dared to linger just about the handle. Everything in this place seemed pristine, as if the janitor slaved the day away cleaning every nook and cranny. Roxas began to feel like he truly had no place at such a high end school. The blonde finally decided to open his locker and put a few things inside. 

After he had done so he closed it softly, placing the padlock on it that Aqua had bought as a part of his school supplies. As the metal device clicked closed, ensuring the safety of his things, he let out a sigh as his fingers slowly left the locker door. 

"well well, look what we have here." A cool voice called with a chuckle. Roxas snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards the voice, seeing a rather tall boy. His pastel pink hair fell down around his shoulders in a fashionable mess. He placed a hand on his hip and stared down at the shorter boy. "A newbie, eh?" He chuckled. 

Roxas' mind went blank, trying to think of a response. 

"Y-Yeah I am..." His shaky voice at last replied. He cursed himself under his breath for sounding like such a fraidy cat. The pink haired boy flipped a strand of hair out of his eyes and took another graceful stride towards Roxas. It didn't take much for him to be towering over the freshman. 

"well do you have a name,then?" He asked, leaning down to Roxas level. His own bright blue eyes staring directly back into the blondes. 

"M-My name is Roxas..." The shorter boy murmured with a bit more confidence in his voice. The taller boy seemed pleased with his response and once again stood up straight. He folded his arms across his chest as a smirk was painted onto his face. 

"I see. Roxas the freshman, eh? Well, my name is Marluxia, and I can promise you it will be a name you will not soon forget." 

Roxas gulped and held his books close to his chest, considerably intimidated by the other boy. He had not a clue what to say, or what to do. 

"Aw c'mon, Marly! Ya bullying the newbie again?" 

Another voiced echoed down the hallway as it drew closer to where the pair were. Marluxia let out a very audible groan, flipping his hair behind his shoulders once more as he turned to meet the newcomer. This boy was just as tall as Marluxia, sporting bright red hair slicked back over his head. His dark teal eyes burned with confidence as he stared the other boy down. 

"What are you doing here, Axel?" Marluxia almost hissed, but in an oddly cool tone. It was bewildering for Roxas to witness such a sudden change in demeanor from this intimidating boy. Roxas turned his attention to the newcomer, who he now knew was called Axel.

"Ya keep settin' up bad reps for the new kids by making them late on their first day of class because of your cheap intimidation tactics. Now why don't you crawl on back to your little click and let this kid go about his day? Or do you want another chat with the principle." Axel's voice dropped to an intimidating tone as he stared down the attacker. 

Marluxia's stomach sank and his face flushed. Clearly, the principle was something to be feared when it came to discipline , Roxas would be sure to keep that in mind. With a resigned and defeated sigh, Marluxia lowered his head. "Fine...Have it your way, hot head.' 

With that, the boy turned and strode away. Roxas watched in awe, thrown for a loop by everything that had just happened. He felt a gentle nudge on his shoulder and looked up to see the redhead standing beside him. 

"Eh, don't worry too much about Marly, kid. He gives you any trouble, just let me know." He smiled with a cool chuckle as he held out his hand to the shorter boy. 

"The names' Axel. What's yours?" 

Roxas was far more composed then he had originally been, and actually found the courage to speak. "My name is Roxas. It's...Nice to meet you, Axel." The blonde greeted in turn. Axel gave him another smile.

"Nice name. I'll make sure to keep it memorized." The tall boy poked his pointer finger to his temple, like he was locking the information away in his brain. 'well that's interesting...' Roxas thought to himself. Though, he had to admit, Axel was leaving a nice first impression. Maybe these two could become friends?

"Well I'd better get going to class. See ya round, Roxas." Axel called to him as he turned, waving over his shoulder. Roxas snapped out of his thoughts and just awkwardly waved back. Once he was gone, Roxas let out a sigh and slumped against his locker. He knew this day was going to be stressful...He just didn't think all the stress would happen in his first half hour! 

"Guess I'd better get to class..." Roxas murmured as he looked at his watch. He would need to hurry, the encounter with Marluxia had cost him precious time. He gulped and looked at his schedule, praying that his first class was rather close to where he was, or he would be late on his very first day! 

 

The rest of the day went buy surprisingly well. Roxas found out he actually had quite a few classes with Axel,which set his mind at ease a little bit. Roxas gathered his things and closed his locker, releasing all of the tension he hadn't realized he had been holding in his shoulders and neck. 

It was the end of the school day, and Roxas was free. He took long strides as he made his way to the door, his steps feeling much lighter and quicker. Maybe...Just maybe...this school wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
